Songwriting 101

Fall Out Boy, Good Charlotte, My Chemical Romance, pay attention. If you wanna be remembered 30 years from now, you gotta learn to write memorable songs -- not songs that provide the background music to The Hills or My Super Sweet 16, but songs that mean something -- songs that make think back to the time you picked up your junior prom date in your parent's station wagon, or the first time you smoked a cigarette in your hebrew school parking lot, or a road trip to the beach after high school graduation. I could be wrong, but if "Dance Floor Anthem" is that song of the younger generation, they're fucked.

Example 1:

Down By The Seaside - Led Zeppelin

Intro: 12/8 time (0:01 - 0:19) Page's mellow-chorus/tremolo effect on guitar setting the initial rhythm of the song;

Verse 1-2: (0:20 - 2:08) Plant's simple, but heartfelt lyrics along with Jones's accompaniment on the Mellotron and Fender Rhodes;

Mid-section: 4/4 time (2:09 - 3:01) Old-school Bonzo wailing on drums, hard-driven guitar and anthemic groove by all members (including the classic line: "Do you still do the twist, do you find that you remember things that well?");

Verse 3: (3:02 - 3:43) Back to 12/8 time;

Guitar solo: (3:44 - 4:06) Jimmy's descending delta blues-style guitar riff;

Verse 4 through outro: (4:07 - 5:15) Repeat above.

Take notes. This is how to write a song. It never gets old.